Written by Rob Goldberg at Bleacher Reports.com
Bryce Harper and Hunter Strickland exchanged punches Monday after Strickland hit Harper with a pitch.
MLB provided video of the incident:
In the eighth inning of the battle between the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants, Strickland used his first pitch to nail Harper in the hip. The Nationals star responded by charging the mound, throwing his helmet and starting a benches-clearing brawl.
Both players were ejected from the game, although each needed teammates to hold them back by the end.
Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area showed the aftermath of multiple players trying to take Strickland off the field:
It took Kontos, Mac and Pence to get Strickland off the field: pic.twitter.com/TP9tETsME3
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) May 29, 2017
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports provided context in the altercation:
This was the first time Hunter Strickland had faced Bryce Harper since the 2014 NLDS, when he went 2 for 2 with two monster homers off him.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 29, 2017
George Kontos became the next pitcher for the Giants while Brian Goodwin replaced Harper on the bases and eventually came around to score. Interestingly, this represented the first earned run against Strickland in the last six appearances.
Strickland is in the midst of an excellent season, now with a 1.53 ERA in 17.2 innings.
Harper is now batting .331 on the year after an 0-for-3 performance Monday.
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